1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of firefighting equipment, and more particularly to a firefighting nozzle used with a remote fire suppressant delivery system.
2. Description of Related Art
Firefighters risk their lives daily in fighting fires in virtually the same way that fires have been fought for over a century. While there have been many improvements over the years, in response times, in communications between firefighters and command, in delivery of water and other suppressants to the burning structures, there has been a rise in firefighter fatalities due to the higher combustibility and toxicity of petroleum-based plastics and other modern synthetic materials found increasingly in home and business interior and furnishings.
At the present time, structures are vented and gases are allowed to burn off while firefighters are forced to wait at a safe distance. This takes valuable time, during which the fire continues to burn and can spread rapidly throughout the structure, resulting in a larger, more dangerous blaze, which takes longer for firefighting teams to bring under control. Water cannons and conventional hoses mounted on aerial ladders outside the blazing structure cannot be effectively deployed to both break into buildings and effectively deliver sufficient volumes of water to the necessary interior perimeter areas.
As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,485,877; 5,447,203; 6,189,622; 6,398,136; and U.S. Publn. 20050199402, the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse firefighting devices.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, they are uniformly deficient with respect to their failure to provide a simple, efficient, and practical firefighting nozzle in combination with a remote suppressant delivery system.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need for a new and improved firefighting system, and the provision of such a device is a stated objective of the present invention.